When the Yanks come Marching In
by TheSistersGrim
Summary: When some much delayed letters from Hogwarts find their way to a fearsome foursome, it can only mean one thing: Field Trip! The question isn't if they are ready for Hogwarts, but if Hogwarts is ready for them!
1. We get to be Muggles! Yay!

"BUT I DON'T WANNA!" Genna wailed out as they looked at the bland school building of Tiverton High that lay before them. "I don't wanna, I don't wanna, I don't wanna!" She stamped her foot as her two close friends dragged her toward the building, despite her protests. Christmas break was still too far away, and they were in for the long haul 'til then.  
  
"How about this!" the blond said finally giving up. "I'll buy you some chocolate, and maybe ice-cream later!"  
  
"Oh, Oh, OH, ME!" A tall lanky guy ran up, jumping up in down in front of her.  
  
"Bad dog, Tyler!" the curly black haired girl giggled. "We were talking to Genna!"  
  
"Fine." He sulked.  
  
"How about you all come over for black raspberry ice-cream after school," the blond gave up throwing her hands in the air. They all hugged her, nearly squeezing her to death.  
  
"EWWW Public displays of emotion, EW!" she cried out clawing at them. They all entered the school laughing.  
  
"This has got to be the best day ever!" Genna giggled as she curled up in the basement apartment of Courtney's house. Pouring herself over a large bowl of ice-cream.  
  
"You said that last week at anime club when we had chocolate mousse pocky."  
  
"How about.... The best day this week then, you silly potato!" She smiled cheerfully as they went on watching Wolf's Rain.  
  
"Courtney!" a yell came down the stairs.  
  
"Ignore her, she's dumb," Courtney hissed about the screeching voice.  
  
"COURTNEY!" Nikki rolled her eyes.  
  
"She's annoying, too."  
  
"COURTNEY, MAIL!" The voice screeched as Courtney had just taken enough ran to the door.  
  
"Listen you little dweeb im trying to wa...." she barely got started screaming when what seemed like a large dust ball came colliding with her face. She fell over onto the floor, and the group stared, as the dust ball whipped around the room. Tyler smiled grabbing a shovel shaped fireplace tool and taking stance like a baseball player.  
  
"Batters up!" his voice hollered, shaking the apartment practically as the dust ball perched itself on the back of the chair, dropping four envelopes.  
  
"Ok, who slipped 'shrooms in my drink, and put on Harry Potter." He laughed walking over to them.  
  
"I don't know." Nikki took a letter and ripped it open. She scanned threw it and shook out the remaining contents. A list of items needed, a small golden key, and a plane ticket.  
  
"GUYS, LOOKY!" Genna almost yelped cheerfully.  
  
"Were going to LONDON, maybe we'll get to be on Harry Potter, ya that's what this is, were gonna be in the next movie!" She bounced around.  
  
"Yay we get to be muggles!" Tyler squealed, imitating an episode of Absolutely Fabulous. The others couldn't help but laugh.  
  
Two days later, and an overly long plane ride with an overly hyper Genna, paranoid Tyler, annoyed Nikki, and frazzled Courtney, the fearsome foursome arrived in London.  
  
"So.. Where are we meeting the guy." Tyler bounced around now. "I want to bother the guards... you know, the ones with the furry hats!"  
  
"Buckingham castle guards Tyler, not the ones with the furry hats." Nikki corrected as they walked out of the airport, suitcases in hand.  
  
"Ya those, where are they?"  
  
"Tyler, can we just take the tour." Genna pointed at a sign on a large bus. "It's cheap and we get to see more than the castle." She smiled bubbly as she turned around to find no one there. "Tyler... Tyler!" her voice turned to screaming as he was nowhere around. They saw his bag, but not him.  
  
"I swear, he's going to be the death of me." Nikki wailed.  
  
"At least he hasn't set anything on fire yet!" Courtney smiled cheerfully. She spun around to head out onto the road when Tyler ran across the street toward them.  
  
"Ello, ol' chaps!" he tried to put on his best English accent. "Welcome to jolly ol' London. Now if ya'll follow me, ill show you around." He bowed his head, Nikki's Dutch Boy cap atop his head, making his appearance even more amusing then it already was.  
  
"You didn't..." Nikki said sternly.  
  
"Rent a van, oh, yes!" he skipped over to it and hopped in. Courtney and Genna leapt in quickly, not daring to say a word, as Nikki, crossing herself, praying to any god who would listen, that Tyler wouldn't kill them.  
  
"TYLER NO MORE DRIVING, OR TOUCHING, OR ANYTHING, FOR YOU!" Nikki screamed as Tyler gently nudged the tires of the steaming van with his boot.  
  
"How was I supposed to know you were right about driving on the opposite side of the road." Tyler snapped angrily, looking out at the emptiness of land. "Besides, no reason we cant walk the rest of the..." a shoe hit him hard in the back of the head.  
  
"BAKA!" She yelled as Courtney smiled going to hug him.  
  
"Its ok, Tyler," She smiled before grabbing his throat in both hands. She began to shake him violently. "YOU IDIOT, WALK, WALK! WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF EAST BUMB FUCK AND YOU WANT US TO WALK! I OUGHTTA!" she began to scream before Genna screamed and jumped back, falling over herself. The sound of a large crack and pop made them all freeze. Nikki turned around slowly to a large red, double decker bus parked there.  
  
"Having a bit of trouble, are we?" a man said from the doorway. Genna nearly screamed, backing up. "What'd I say?" he angled his head. "Well welcome to the Knight Bus, your transportation for the stranded witch or wizard."  
  
Nikki fished in her pockets eagerly to find money.  
  
"I only have American money, will this cover it." She offered. He eyed it then nodded.  
  
"I suppose so, alrighty then, on ya go." He said quickly as they all climbed in slowly. They barely sat down when the bus burst off.  
  
"Where you headed?"  
  
"The Shrieking Shack!" Tyler announced proudly.  
  
"Your mad you are, but alright," he nodded as they raced down the roads. Genna looked as if she would be sick.  
  
"I like him, he drives like me." Tyler beamed. Nikki and Courtney both just cuffed him upside the head.  
  
"Dullsville." Tyler huffed looking around the Shrieking Shack. There was barely anything in the old rundown house. He huffed, stopping near his friends.  
  
"Remi's sick of this, I want candy, NOW!" she stamped her foot and froze. The ground creaked as Nikki looked down.  
  
"Guys.. Don't..." she started as a loud crack was heard and the floor gave way under them. They screamed as they fell into the basement of the building. Genna was still screaming as she opened her eyes.  
  
"Genna SHH!" Courtney quickly covered the girl's mouth as she looked around.  
  
"Be vewy, vewy, quiet... were hunting wabbits." Tyler laughed as he ran down the long tunnel way, disappearing into darkness.  
  
"Tyler..." Nikki said gently as she walked toward the light. The sound of cry's for help were faint, as if someone was jumping between left and right and couldn't pick a way. She ventured first into the light and bit back a scream as she jumped, nearly being clobbered by a thick tree branch. Tyler was there, clinging for dear life, as it whipped him around.  
  
"Tyler what did I tell you about playing nice!" Courtney laughed as she dusted herself off.  
  
"Look out!" Nikki jumped again as the branch collided with Courtney and Genna sending them off into the brush. Nikki continued to play her game of jump rope before it sent her flying into the bushes. Tyler continued to scream for help as the branch went straight up and came smashing down, leaving Tyler screaming on the ground. Courtney and Nikki rushed out, grabbing his arm and dragged him toward safety.  
  
"My legs, my legs, I'm dieing!" he embellished. "You'll have to cut them off!" he screamed.  
  
"Oh shut up, there's a... a... oh dear..." Nikki drifted off seeing a castle in the background.  
  
"Hello creepy." Genna muttered. "If that's Hogwarts, then lets go to Hagrid's, it should be right there."  
  
"This is brought to you by the same guys who created Wizard of Oz, very, very trippy." Courtney huffed as she helped Tyler up between her and Nikki and started their trek. As they reached the door, Genna went up and knocked. There was no response. Genna took a deep breath smiling.  
  
"Mr. Hagrid lady sir, WE NEED YOUR HELP!" she screamed. The door whipped open as she ducked. A overly large dog, the size of a pony leapt over her, and right onto Tyler, licking at his face. The screams seemed to scare all the birds within a three hundred yard radius as they scattered, yelling back at him. A large man filled the doorframe.  
  
"Now what's this I 'ear about needin' help?" his voice filled the air. Tyler whimpered as Courtney dropped her half of him, leaving Nikki with the entire burden.  
  
"Listen, I think we got confused, or maybe its the airplane food, or even Tyler nearly killing us but.. we're here for a Harry Potter casting call." She held up the envelopes. Hagrid looked at them and nearly did a double take.  
  
"Ahh, well, I see then." He straightened his posture as he picked up Tyler, who screamed more. "Dumbledore will be wanting to see ya." 


	2. Or not

Chapter 2

Tyler couldn't help but look at the students as they passed to their next classes, and they couldn't help but stare at the four strangers accompanying the groundskeeper. Genna was skipping almost merrily after Hagrid, while Courtney and Nikki scanned the halls, looking around with barely contained grins of excitement.

"Blimey, Hagrid, what happened?" a red head asked as he fell into step beside Hagrid.

"Had a bit of a fall, just taking 'im up to Pomfrey as we speak." Hagrid nodded as he started up the stairs.

"Well, that's poor luck for him, see you after lunch," he called out and rushed toward a set of stairs, running down them.

"How much you bet, we follow him, we find Harry." Courtney hissed looking at Nikki. Nikki grinned wickedly.

"Let's go." Nikki whispered as they turned around and raced down the stairs, Remi still following Hagrid, both of them oblivious.

"So Miss 'How Much You Bet Ron leads to Harry,' where are we now!" Nikki snapped as they wandered a darker hallway.

"I never said you had to follow me." Courtney snapped as she peered into open doors. The sound of a dull voice echoed the hall, growing louder as they bickered and walked toward it.

"Well with what you said you might as well have!" Nikki snapped now.

"Well who's the fool for following me?!" Courtney snapped.

"You know what!" Nikki stopped and stared at her. "I hope, that if we are really here, Snape gets you!" She said folding her arms.

"Isn't it you that wants to get him? You think he's soo sexy." She sang out as she skipped down the hall. "You want to kiiiiss him, you want to looove him." She giggled as she skipped down the hall before stopping, oblivious to the fact that she was standing in the doorway of the only class in session in all of the dungeons. "You got a crush on Snaaape, you got a crush on.." she didn't see it coming, and neither did the class, now watching threw the door. The hall seemed empty to the onlookers until Nikki rushed Courtney, throwing herself at her.

"You wench!" She screamed as they rolled around on the floor fighting. Seconds later, someone cleared their throat, and Courtney looked up from strangling Nikki, who in turn had a handful of Courtney's hair.

"If you will follow me to Dumbledore's office," the man glaring down at them cleared his throat again. Courtney eyed him and smiled.

"I guess you're right, he is kind of cute," she tried not to laugh as she stared up at the notorious teacher. "I got one question... scientifically I mean." Nikki looked like she was going to kill her, but it wasn't stopping Courtney. "What color and style are you undergarments?" Nikki lunged up at her friend and they rolled around again before Severus Snape cut them off again.

"The two of you, with me!" he snarled and turned to his class. "Dismissed."

"Ohh.. two of us.. with you.. my my.." Courtney snickered.

He hissed something under his breath, most likely vulgar, and stormed off. Nikki and Courtney followed with their heads down, wondering what sort of trouble they had started. As the class stared, Courtney chanced a glace up at them, spotting the redhead and his famous friend.

"Told you Ron leads to Harry," Courtney grinned. Nikki just growled something under her breath and stormed off.

"Ahhh," the elder voice said as the two entered Dumbledore's office. "I've been looking for you both. Seems to me you rushed off on Hagrid."

"Sorry, sir." Nikki said quickly. "It was Courtney's idea."

"And if it was my idea to jump off of a bridge, would you do it?!" Courtney snapped.

"No, I'd watch you and laugh!" Nikki snarled back, then remembered who she was growling in the presence of, and regained her posture.

"Sorry." They said in unison, bowing there heads as if ashamed at what they had done.

"No need to be sorry girls," Dumbledore comforted them with a smile. "I can only imagine what was going through your heads. The fact is, we have been trying to reach you for some time now. Almost six years. We've sent numerous letters each summer, but none have seemed to reach you, until recently."

"Well, if they follow us, im always traveling in the summer." Genna said quickly.

"I travel alot, too," Courtney shrugged.

"Camping," Tyler yawned.

"I live with my mom instead of my grandma in the summer," Nikki looked up to meet his confused eyes and couldn't help but smile. So it was true then, they were really enrolled at Hogwarts School!

"Well then, all your supplies and books are here, now the problem is, where to place you," Dumbledore rubbed his chin as he thought. "Normally we do not sort students this late into the year."

"Dumbledore you can not be serious, to take such unlearned students, and to stick them in with the other sixth years!" Snape seamed outraged at Dumbledore saying such a thing. Dumbledore eyes locked with his, as they exchanged unspoken words,

"Their tuition, travel, and books have been paid for, and they will try their hardest to catch up to there class. Won't you?" he turned with a wink to the foursome now bickering about what house they would end up in. Dumbledore cleared his throat as the four suddenly turned quiet. "Now, I will hold a meeting after dinner, just for the sixth years, at which you will be sorted into your houses. So, if you'll follow Professor McGonagall, she'll show you where you can clean up, and change." He went back down to working on a scroll of parchment. She cleared her throat and the foursome, feet dragging, followed after her.

Genna looked as if she would be sick as she stood there, waiting. The entire 6th year class had remained seated after dinner, and waited, to see what Dumbledore had proclaimed as 'Very Important'. Tyler couldn't help but sneak peeks of the backs of all those students.

"So where you think I'll end up..." Genna finally whispered, breaking the silence. "You better not leave me!" Her voice now more menacing.

"You're smart, I would think Gryffindor." Tyler muttered now. "And Nikki too, after all the hat said last time..." Tyler nearly chocked on his own tongue, as Nikki stood there, hand still where it had been when she cuffed him hard upside his head, as though poised to strike again if he didn't learn from the first hit. Courtney and Genna both just giggled.

"Ravenclaw is the house for smart people, you twit," Nikki sighed. "Gryffindor is for self righteous pricks like you."

"Even in Slytherin colors, it said you belonged there, say hi to Harry for me," Courtney winked and went back to watching the hall.

(The reason behind their teasing was a trip to California in which Nikki had gotten to go to the Warner Bros studios, and got to be sorted with the stool and hat from the film. Only then, a cheesy overhead speaker had proclaimed her a Gryffindor, which she was later assured was the only thing the hat said nowadays, as when it had originally been programmed with all four, too many little kids cried when they didn't get Gryffindor.)

The sound of Dumbledore's voice echoed over the nearly empty hall as he spoke of the foursome. It was when the door opened wide - and Tyler nearly fell on his face, as he had been leaning on the door- that all four faces went pale and ridged. Genna's face of mild nervousness turned to one of absolute fright, as she tried to keep her cool, but it didn't work very well. Nikki's own hands balled into fists as she tried to calm herself. Courtney's face was now blank, her eyes dull, almost sleepy, so no one could see behind her mask. Tyler almost matched her, except for a slight twist at the side of his mouth, that gave away almost a eerie smile. The foursome advanced, tired, and almost frightened of what was to come.

"Conception, Genna!" Professor McGonagall's voice echoed of the stone of the hall. Genna nearly stumbled, as Nikki nudged her friend forward. She wandered toward the stool, and took her place. It was seconds later she felt the hat atop her head.

"As usual, late, your grandmother was late, and you cousin, no punctuality!" the hat spoke to her. Genna nearly choked in shock, part of her still not expecting the hat to talk. "Well then, lots of wisdom, oh yes, you are smart. But you second guess yourself, and do not jump into things so quickly, but play them out, then you decide what to do... Ravenclaw!" it nearly screamed out the name, as Genna clutched her ears. She could barley walk forward as Ravenclaws cheered, welcoming her as if she had always been part of there class.

"Cartin, Courtney." McGonagall's voice rang out as Courtney took her seat, staring straight ahead as the hat was placed on her head.

"my, my, haven't seen one of your clansmen in years. Not since your great grandmother. Holding out on us I see, well, lots of courage, bold and cocky, too."

"I am not...!"

"stubborn, and smart, smart enough for Ravenclaw, if you would actually work that is..." The hat seamed to ponder. "But plotting, fighting, that's what makes you tick. A few interesting traits I haven't seen since the early four walked these halls. Slytherin!" the hat screamed, Courtney getting to her feet the moment Professor McGonagall lifted the hat. She walked as if she was numb, toward the table, with the sneering Draco and his friends.

"LeComte, Nicole." McGonagall's voice seemed louder now as Nikki took the seat. The hat nestled around her head and chuckled.

"Ms LeComte, I was wondering when I would finally see you." The hat chuckled, it seemed to be almost smirking at her, not that she could see anything but the inside of it. "Well then let's see shall we? To work in shadow is a brilliant thing, not everyone works that way. Courage, intelligence, loyalty, yes... much like your father. Well then, this is settled.. Slytherin!" it cried out again. Nikki clutched her ringing ears as she stared at the hat now in McGonagall's hands, before walking to her seat beside Courtney.

"Ewart, Tyler!" McGonagall announced as he jumped into the seat, excited.

"Slytherin, here I come..." he smirked, rubbing his hands together as the hat came down.

"Strange, very outgoing, a bit too outgoing..." the hat muttered.

"Wonder if he'll end up with us?" Nikki leaned in, whispering to Courtney.

"Hope he gets Hufflepuff, it would be so funny!" Courtney whispered back. Nikki paled at the thought.

"It would be a slaughter, he'd kill them all. You know his..." she muttered, not noticing Draco leaning in more to listen. "..Short temper against people like that."

"He puts up with me," Courtney snorted, shrugging.

"He knows you're just kidding, whereas they really are that dumb," Nikki pointed a thumb toward their table.

"You've got brains to pull of some of these tricks, but, alas you don't think them all threw..." the hat continued silently in Tyler's head, the others looking on impatiently.

"This is taking longer then usual," Goyle huffed sitting back. "Maybe he's just a squib, stupid to think they can just..."

"Shut your mouth unless you want it sewn shut then stapled!" Courtney snarled at him before returning to Nikki. "He isn't!" She nearly gasped as she looked back toward the stool. Tyler's eyes were closed and he was breathing slowly as the hat seemed to fret to itself.

"He's.... sleeping..." Nikki giggled as she realized this, before hiding her face to keep her laughter quiet.

"Have a good night sleep?" Nikki stretched as she walked out of the sixth year's girl's dormitory in a green tank top and black pants.

"Please, I'd much sooner sleep in a cobra pit!" Courtney threw herself into a black leather armchair, looking into the fire.

"At least we have our own room," Nikki shrugged.

"As entertaining as your conversation may be..." a cold male voice drawled, approaching behind them. Nikki looked over to Professor Snape, who was standing right behind Courtney's chair. "You have to catch up to your classmates. This week you'll be allowed to do as you like, and I advise studying. Your books," He pointed his wand toward the table as it filled up with books rapidly, followed by a tray of vials, cauldrons, robes, quills, ink, and parchment. Courtney's jaw nearly dropped.

"I... more... homework...no..." she looked as though she would burst into tears.

"It wont be that bad," Nikki shrugged, picking up one of the books and flipping through it. " I mean look, think of it as fun, before you got nothing out of homework. This time you can learn.."

"How to torture my sister!" Courtney piped up excitedly as she reached for her books.

"Well then, breakfast will start soon. I recommend you run along," he spoke with his arms folded. "We will be leaving for Diagon Alley to get you your robes and wands right after."

"We?" Courtney asked.

"Yes," Snape drawled. "I have been given the task of bringing you two and your friends shopping, as I am the only teacher that doesn't have any classes this morning."

Courtney and Nikki exchanged glances, Courtney looking excited, Nikki looking like she was dreading the trip.

"I will be waiting for you at the front doors at the end of breakfast. Do not make me wait long," Snape snarled, then stalked off. Nikki could tell by the way he walked that he wasn't any happier about the trip than she was.

"He's still up there." Genna huffed as soon as her two friends strolled in.

"Still."

"Probably slept all night there!" Genna sighed before moving to her seat. Courtney and Nikki took their seats and began to eat, they were almost halfway threw there meal when the hat stirred, as if letting out a heavy sigh.

"Gryffindor!" it bellowed. The students went silent as the sound of a crack echoed the hall. Tyler had fallen backwards, sending the stood flying.

"Get away!" Tyler jumped up looking about, as if someone was after him. He stopped and rubbed his head. "Hi.."

"Please take your seat at Gryffindor, Mr. Ewart." Professor mcconigal said gently extending a hand pointing toward them. Tyler jumped off stage and started to walk their way. He paused right before them and leaned over Nikki's shoulder.

"I had a dream, that the flying monkeys were coming to take my pants again," he whispered. Nikki nearly burst out laughing, as Tyler moved taking his seat right beside Ginny.

"Never misses a opportunity to flirt does he?" Courtney's managed to say without laughing.

"Tyler... Tyler will be Tyler."


	3. Diagon Alley

A/N: _Rakka: haha... now it's MY turn.._

_CC: oh dear.. i'm in trouble, aren't I?_

_Rakka: well, you'll know soon enough!_

chapter 3:

"Alright, students," Snape sighed. "You're to be on your best behavior, understand?"

"Yes, professor Snapey person," Genna nodded eagerly, tucking her hair back behind her ears.

"Five points from Ravenclaw for every time I hear you call me that from here onward, got it, Miss Concepcion?"

"Please, just call me Remi, Professor," Genna smiled widely, almost taunting him.

"Anyway... where is Ewart?" Snape sighed. "That boy, I swear..."

"If you don't kill him by the end of the year, professor," Nikki sighed. "I probably will."

"Hey, you weren't leaving without me, were you?" Tyler ran in from the Great Hall, a napkin full of something that smelled like bacon in his hand.

"What took you so long, Mr. Ewart?" Snape sighed, half afraid to hear the answer.

"Well, since I spent all night sitting up instead of lying down, you know, I burned more calories," Tyler grinned, holding up the napkin, which looked to hold about a pound of hot bacon, with a few other things mixed in. "Needed to eat more, see?"

"Whatever," Snape shook his head. "Let's go."

About fifteen minutes later, around the same time Tyler finished his breakfast, they arrived at Diagon Alley. Snape led them straight to where they were getting their robes, at Madam Malkin's, and they were fitted. Tyler screamed incessantly that she was stabbing him with the pins, even when they were a good foot away from him, and Remi flapped the sleeves of her oversized robe, declaring herself a bat. Snape, losing his patience, decided to wait outside. When Nikki and Remi, the first of the two to be finished, came outside, the professor hurried to hide something that looked rather like a flask in his robes before Tyler and Courtney joined them, and the group headed off to Ollivander's.

"Hello, Professor Snape," Mr. Ollivander nodded. "Oh.. and these are new faces.."

"Hi, I'm Remi," Genna smiled, extending her hand.

"Remi?" Ollivander looked a bit confused, but shook her hand anyway.

"Miss Concepcion, can you please try not to be so... weird, just for one day?" Snape sounded frazzled. "Don't mind them, they're Americans. It took six years for their letters to get through, and they've got alot of catching up to do."

"I see," Ollivander nodded, looking over all of them, getting especially close to Tyler.

"Ummm... hi," Tyler said flatly, leaning back, away from the man.

"And what is your name, young sir?"

"Tyler. Tyler Ewart," Tyler sighed.

"Ah! Mark's boy! I can remember your father coming in here for his first wand... beechwood, eleven inches, dragon heartstring... very good for transfiguration.. your father was a pro at it.. here, try this one.."

Ollivander handed Tyler a wand, but took it back right away. "Perhaps.. perhaps one more like Albus'... let's see..."

"Albus who?" Tyler raised an eyebrow quizzically.

"Dumbledore, your grandfather, who else?" Ollivander tried to hand Tyler another wand, but Tyler didn't take it.

"Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts, is my grandfather?" Tyler stammered.

"Yes, of course, your father's father. Mark went to Beauxbaxtons, of course. Was afraid people would think he was being favored if his father was headmaster, didn't want special treatment. Good man, your father. Here, try this. Cedar, eleven inches, dragon heartstring. Pliable, but can take a beating."

"Good thing, as Tyler breaks everything," Nikki snorted.

"I do not," Tyler huffed, taking the wand, quickly forgetting the comment as he realized that if he swung it in a tight arc, gold sparks came out of the end of his wand.

"Perfect!" Ollivander grinned. "And you, miss.. who might you be?"

"Nikki LeComte," Nikki stepped forward, flinching a little when the measuring tape started flitting all about her.

"Hmm... LeComte... Are you Brian's, or Tracey's?"

"Tracey's," Nikki sighed, watching the tape flutter off to attack Courtney, then Remi, who swatted it away, squeaking with fear.

"Ah... yes, I thought so," Ollivander smirked. "You look like your father. You might have inherited his feel for wands, too, eh? Let's try you with this, ebony and phoenix feather."

Nikki held it for a moment, then frowned, giving it back. She tried four more before ending with an eleven inch Willow wand with a core of unicorn hair. Courtney stepped up, and Ollivander grinned.

"When your grandmother left here, she left this with me," Ollivander came back with a particularly dusty box. "Said to hang on to it until another of her line came in here. Let's give it a try, eh?"

The thirteen inch bloodwood wand, with a core of dragon heartstring, was a perfect match. Courtney took it and stepped aside, letting Genna through.

"Ah, another Concepcion. All of your family have used beechwood wands for generations... you look like a unicorn hair kind of girl... let's try this.."

Genna tried seven different wands made of beechwood, five maple, three holly, an ebony, four willow, and a cedar wand before ending up with a mahogany wand, eight inches long, with a unicorn hair core. By that time, she had accidentally singed Nikki's hair, nearly jinxed Snape's nose off, and hit Tyler in the foot with some sparks by accident. Courtney, who had been too busy digging through Ollivander's messy but organized (or at least it _was_ when they got there) shop to be in the line of fire, was the only one who came out of the shop unfrazzled, Remi aside. As Ollivander ushered them out of the store, he forced a smile and told them all that if they ever needed another wand, all they needed to do was owl him, most likely because he didn't want any of them setting foot in his store again. Remi, completely nonplussed, spotted what looked to be an ice cream shop across the street.

"Ice cream! Ice cream!" she cried, jumping up and down. "Let's go!"

"Miss Concepcion, we have already wasted too much time here, we need to get back to the school so we can..."

"ICE CREAM!" she howled, jumping up and down in the middle of Diagon Alley, earning stares from everyone on the street.

"Ice cream!" Courtney joined in, crossing her arms and refusing to move. Snape made his digsust known with several hissed mutters under his breath.

"Food?" Tyler perked up. "Oh, I want ice cream, too!"

"Guys, come on, we'll get ice cream tomorrow when we come back, we need to go catch up on our work so we can actually come back," Nikki pleaded, trying to delegate before Snape hexed all of her friends into next week. "If you wait until tomorrow, I'll buy. Come on."

"Ice cream!" Remi sat down on the ground, refusing to move. Courtney stomped her foot, and Tyler just walked right up to the shop window, reading the flavors out loud.

"Come on, guys. We don't even have any money on us. We will tomorrow, let's go."

"Peanut butter... rum raisin... butterscotch ripple... Ohh, they have cheescake flavored ice cream!"

"Come on, Tyler. Cut it out. We've got to go."

"Ice cream!"

"Remi, for the love of all that's holy, get up off the ground. You're making a scene."

"Ice cream!"

"Courtney, don't encourage her!"

"Come on, Miss LeComte," Snape sighed. "We might as well shut them up."

Dumbfounded, Nikki followed Snape into the ice cream shop, shaking her head. Fifteen minutes later, they were finally on their way home again, ice creams in hand, paid for by Snape.

"You didn't have to do that, professor, really," Nikki said, having noticed that he'd taken the money from his own wallet instead of the bag he'd taken the robe and wand money from.

"It's a small price to pay to shut them up," he sighed. "And one I'm more than willing to pay myself, Miss LeComte. Pay it no mind. Now, if we are all done with the childish outbursts, we will be heading back to the school, and myself or another member of the staff will pick up your robes later this week when they are finished."

Luckily, the others were too preoccupied with thier ice creams to make any comments. About two minutes after getting in their thestral drawn coach to ride back, Remi, Tyler, and Courtney finished their ice creams and fell asleep, and something about the professor's knowing smirk gave Nikki the feeling that neither their naps nor the impeccable timing of them was an accident, but she was thankful for the quiet ride, and fell asleep on her own before the coach rolled onto the school grounds.


	4. flashback in a bowl

_A/N:_

_CC: hey.. there's a plot here?_

_Rakka: yes. we agreed on it months ago._

_CC: we did?_

_Rakka: oh, be quiet, and go start writing chapter 6. it's your turn again._

**Chapter 4: flashback in a bowl**

"So, Remi," Courtney smiled, throwing an arm over Genna as she tried to walk back to the Ravenclaw's common room.

"No, Courtney, you can't copy my essay for Binns' class," Genna sighed.

"Actually, that wasn't what I was going to ask," Courtney lied. "But now that you mention it, drat... Anyway.."

"Courtney," Nikki said in a tone that meant she was starting to lose patience as she rode the staircase that had swung down to right where Courtney and Genna were standing, or rather, where Genna was standing and Courtney was attempting to hide behind her much shorter friend. "How long were you planning to wander around before you met me back in the dorms? We have potions work to do. Let's go."

"Blah, blah blah," Courtney sighed, miming accordingly with her hand.

"Locomotor Mortis," Nikki zapped Courtney, who fell forward, face first.

"Oh, not fair," Courtney grumbled.

"Well, Corky, if you'd kept up on your DADA homework, you'd have known how to block that, as well as the countercurse to fix it," Nikki smirked, leaning over Courtney, who growled. "You brought that upon yourself."

Tyler, who had been approaching from the Great Hall, burst into laughter.

"Haha, Courtney got leg-locked!" Tyler grinned. Muttering another incantation, Nikki got Courtney to hover behind her like a marionette.

"See you guys later," Nikki waved. "We've got potions homework to do."

With that, Nikki dissappeared down the stairs, into the Slytherin dormitories, Courtney right behind her.

"Oh man... this is not going to end well..." Nikki groaned, keeping her hands, which were covered with dragonhide gloves, as close to her face as she could, waiting for the cauldron to explode. "What was Professor Snape thinking, letting us do our potions work in the dormitories? This is such a bad idea.." Nikki sat on a pillow on the floor, her back resting against the trunk at the foot of her bed, Courtney across from her. The two of them had their own room at the bottom of the dormitory, where they were attempting some third year potions, trying to get caught up.

"You sound like Granger," Courtney warned. "All that whining.. maybe you should be in Gryffindor..."

"All that screwing up, maybe you should be in Hufflepuff," Nikki snarled, then returned to reading the directions the professor had written for them. "Say.. what the hat said..." Nikki pondered, then glanced down. "Corky, no, don't add the scarabs yet, its not up to temperature!"

"Bah, it'll be fine," Courtney shrugged, dropping the scarabs.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" Nikki caught the scarabs right before they could fall in. "Merlin's arse, woman! Why don't you let me finish this, and you can start on the reading for transfiguration, eh?"

"Why are you all of a sudden so scared to screw up?" Courtney asked, eyebrow raised. "Trying to impress Snape?"

"No, but this is MY cauldron, and OUR room! Don't you remember what happened to Longbottom in first year? Imagine what can happen with a potion considered two years more advanced, especially without a teacher around to help if it gets out of control..."

"Good point. So anyway, what did the hat say that's got you all ruffled?" Courtney played with a lighter.

"Don't play with that near all our potions supplies, you dirk!" Nikki hissed, then added the scarbs to the potion, watched it turn from green to purple, and jotted something down on a parchment. "Anyway.. it wasn't anything huge.. it just said.. it said I was like my father, that's all..."

"You mean your dad was a Slytherin, too?" Courtney raised an eyebrow. "Hey, the cauldron is going to boil over, miss perfectionist. Keep an eye on it, will you?"

"Oops," Nikki turned the fire down. "I shouldn't try to talk and think at once. You'd think I'd know that by now... oh, good!" She grinned when the potion turned so dark red it was almost looking black, like blood. "Awesome, it worked!"

"Well, shove it in a vial so we can go bring it to Snapey poo," Courtney got up and dusted herself off while Nikki filled a vial, turned the fire off completely, and corked it, following her friend up the stairs to the common room.

"So, anyway.. I wonder how your dad went from Hogwarts to a Muggle car dealership," Courtney pondered. "I mean, at least my dad was raised by Roman Catholics, and my mom's a squib, so it makes sense that they live with Muggles.."

"Yeah," Nikki sighed. "Say, you think maybe.. I mean, my mom was the same age as Potter's parents, so she's about Snape's age... you think maybe... he might have known my dad? Since they were both Slytherin, around the same time?"

"We'll have to ask," Courtney shrugged.

"Maybe I'll do the talking, eh? Last time I let you open your mouth, you started quoting the deleted chapters of 'Exodus.'"

"Hey, it was a legitimate question!" Courtney huffed.

"You asked him what color his underwear was!"

"I meant it in a scientific way!"

"You... you dirkweed," Nikki shook her head, exasperated, and knocked on the door to Snape's classroom, as the last of the students filed out. "Hello, Professor Snape?... Hello?"

"Snape had to bring Longbottom to the infirmary again," Ron gestured to the hole burned clean through the thick stone floor, tucking a long strand of his hair behind his ear. "Say, aren't you two.."

Nikki looked down at her Slytherin t-shirt, then over at Courtney, who was wearing a t-shirt that read 'kiss me, I'm evil.' Suddenly, it occurred to her that they weren't making the best first impression with the redheaded Gryffindor.

"We're the new kids," Nikki forced a smile. "You probably already got to know my charming buddy Tyler.."

"Yeah," Ron laughed a little. "I'm afraid so. Say, aren't you his sister?"

"Yes," Nikki nodded. "And sometimes girlfriend, apparently."

Ron looked a little puzzled, then disgusted.

"So," Nikki smiled as Courtney bit back a smirk. "You think if we wait here, Snape will show up?"

"Yeah," Ron said quickly and nodded, more a jerk of the head than a gesture, before walking off at top speed.

"In the immortal words of Pierce Williamson," Nikki grinned at Courtney, "Yes, incest is best."

"Say, he's gotten rather cute, hasn't he?" Courtney glanced off toward where Ron could still be seen in the crowd, as he was a foot taller than most everyone in it. NIkki sighed, stepping into the classroom, and sat down on one of the stools toward the front. Courtney, having lost sight of Ron as he headed up a set of stairs, sighed and followed Nikki in to the class, but something caught her eye across the hall, in Snape's office.

"Courtney, stay where I can see you," Nikki warned, seeing Courtney looking out into the hall.

"Snape's office door is open," Courtney pointed out.

"Good for the door. Don't go in," Nikki sighed.

"But Snape is paranoid. And with good reason-"

"Meaning it's likely jinxed, and you'll loose a limb if y ou try to go in," Nikki added.

"...If that doors open, then what if some Gryffindork put something in there? Like, stinkbombs or something?" Courtney was still standing in the classroom doorway, staring out into the hall at the open door.

"Courtney," Nikki sighed, "Even if someone did, we don't know enough magic to be able to fix it. The best thing we can do is stay right here until Snape comes back, and scare off anyone who feels the urge to go in there in the meantime."

"Nikki.. there's something glowing... hey! I've got an idea!"

"Courtney!" Nikki carefully put the vial of potion down, then walked after Courtney, who was standing in the empty hallway, peeking into the office.

"It's his pensieve," Courtney whispered. "Hey.. if your dad was a Slytherin, around the same time as Snape..."

"Courtney, don't! You read Order of the Phoenix," Nikki warned. "Don't you remember what happened when Harry went in there?"

"Yeah, it was awesome!"

"Until Snape busted him! He threw jars of picked animals at him! We can't afford to get on his bad side this early in the year, Corky. We need to pass."

"No, you're missing my point, Nikki," Courtney's tone wasn't joking anymore. "Remember what Harry saw? His time in Hogwarts. Maybe we can see who your dad is. Aren't you curious?"

"I want to know, but not badly enough to do something that stupid," Nikki sighed, shaking her head. When she looked up, Courtney was in the office, looking down into the pensieve, wand in hand. "Courtney, no! Get back here!" Nikki grabbed Courtney's arm, trying to pull her away from the glowing stone basin. Courtney touched her wand to the silver, glowing memories, and they were both drawn in.

"Here we are, Hogwarts! Yes!" Courtney giggled, looking around at the History of Magic classroom, nearly twenty years earlier.

"You are going to get us into so much trouble," Nikki moaned, pale as though Snape was already standing over them.

"Well, we might as well get what we came for, if we're going to get into trouble either way," Courtney smirked.

"We are so screwed," Nikki grumbled. "Come on, let's find Snape."

"Aren't we supposed to be looking for your dad?"

"I don't know what he sodding looks like! Besides, we need to follow Snape, since it's his memories," Nikki pointed out, and began wandering through the room as though it were present time, peeking around tables and such, in search of the potions master.

"There he is," Courtney pointed to a desk toward the front just as class ended, where a young Severus Snape was getting up, moving to leave class, following the other students out the door. As they followed him down the hallway, he fell in step behind a girl with platinum blonde hair, a fellow Slytherin, around his age. She waved, as though trying to get someone's attention.

"Tracey, wait up!" the blonde called, and a girl in Ravenclaw robes, with thin, deep brown hair turned to face them. Nikki stopped short for a moment. It was her mother.

"Hi, Narcissa," Tracey smiled.

"Where are you going?" Narcissa asked conversationally.

"I.. I have plans," Tracey seemed overwhelmingly interested in her feet.

"You aren't going to sneak off to see _him _again, are you?" Narcissa frowned with distain. "He's trouble, Tracey."

"Sod off, Cissa," Tracey sighed. "It's nothing, really."

"That crowd he runs with... troublesome bastards, every last one of them," Narcissa sighed, tossing her long, pale hair back over her shoulder with a quick jerk of her neck. "Honestly, Tracey, you shouldn't have anything to do with them. Especially him."

"Please," Tracey scoffed. "Who would you pair me with? Pettigrew?"

"He's be a better match," Narcissa sighed. "At least he's pureblood. And he's less dangerous than the rest of his crowd, you have to give him that."

"Honestly," Tracey sighed. "I couldn't care less if he's pureblood or not. I like him, okay?"

"I'm telling you, he's more trouble than he's worth," Narcissa sighed, walking away.

"Use a name, already!" Nikki growled in desperation. "Give me a bloody name to work with, here!"

"We've got to follow her," Courtney grabbed Nikki's arm, trying to drag her after the girl who, in a huff, was now storming off go meet with her mysterious boyfriend, who both girls agreed had to be Nikki's father.

"But we can't!" Nikki sighed, pointing over at Severus, who had fallen a few steps behind, reading as he walked. Growling to herself, Courtney gave up, knowing they wouldn't be able to go follow, until, surprisingly, Severus turned in the same direction. Eagerly, they followed him down the hallways, and toward the library, eyes open, peering around every possible corner, looking for Tracey, but to no avail. Sighing, they followed Severus into the library, where he scanned the shelves, grabbed a book, sat down at the nearest empty table, and started writing. Courtney started cursing at the top of her lungs, yammering about how incredibly boring Severus was, and how she wished he was secretly in love with Nikki's mother and stalking her, as that would make their little mission so much easier. Nikki sat on the table where Severus worked, watching him write, sighing with defeat, when she thought she heard something around the corner.

"Courtney, be quiet."

"Why? No one can hear me but you, I mean, sodding hell.."

"Shut up! I think I hear something.."

Nikki got up from the table, and went around the corner of the bookshelf, only to stop short in abject terror. Courtney rounded the corner, and a few more vulgarities escaped her mouth, this time, in a whisper.

Tracey was leaning against the bookshelf, moaning slightly, her mouth clamped tightly on that of a man about her own age, in Gryffindor robes, with chestnut hair. From the angle where they stood, the two girls could only see part of his face, but Nikki, without ever having met him before, knew exactly who he was.

Remus Lupin.

Nikki fell to her knees, and felt the cold stone of Severus' office under her, but didn't even seem to notice that they were back where they belonged, that image burned into the back of her eyelids. Courtney grabbed Nikki's arm, trying to pull her to her feet.

"Hurry up, we need to get out of here before Snape comes back," Courtney hissed. Nodding blankly, Nikki let Courtney pull her to her feet, and they headed back into the Potions classroom, Nikki sitting back down on the stool in front of their vial of Potion, staring at it as though she wasn't even really alive anymore.

"Nikki... that couldn't be right... you're not..."

"What couldn't be right?" Snape asked, coming up behind them silently. "If it's your Potion, then I'm not even gong to ask why you're here."

"No, no, the Potion came out fine," Courtney forced a smile. "We were.. umm.. discussing our History essays, right, Nikki?"

Nikki nodded, still not speaking. Snape took the vial of potion from in front of her, inspecting it.

"Looks adequate, which isn't saying much, as it's only a third year level assignment, but certainly progress. Let me get you your next assignment, so that you can move on."

"Professor Snape, sir?" Nikki said softly.

"Yes, Miss LeComte?"

"I was just wondering.. did you know my mother, when she attended Hogwarts?"

"What was her maiden name?" Snape asked absentmindedly, writing something down on a slip of parchment.

"Tracey LeComte," Nikki said calmly. Severus paused, the quill in his hand hovering over the parchment for a moment, before he cleared his throat, and continued writing.

"She was the same year as I was, only Ravenclaw," he replied calmly. "I didn't know her well, but I did have a few classes with her, and a mutual friend. Why do you ask, Miss LeComte?"

"Just curious," Nikki sighed. "I recently found out that she lied to me about who my biological father is, so I thought that maybe, if you knew her, you might have some clues for me, but if you didn't know her well.."

"She didn't really converse much with Slytherins, aside from Narcissa Malfoy -then Miss Black- but I did speak with her a few times. She was more fond of Gryffindors than Slytherins, though, I know that much."

"She was friends with Potter's parents, wasn't she?" Courtney said quietly.

"Till the day she left," Severus sighed. "A shame, really. She was too smart for that crowd. So much wasted potential.. Well, here's your next assignment. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a class starting in a few minutes, and need to prepare."

"Thank you, Professor," Nikki nodded, taking the piece of parchment, and stashing it in her pocket, following Courtney out the door. Courtney turned toward the common room, but Nikki passed her, heading for the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Courtney asked.

"Go on without me," Nikki sighed. "I have to speak to someone."

Fifteen minutes later, Nikki was at the door to Professor McGonnagal's office.

"Well, hello there, Miss LeComte," Minerva smiled. "Can I help you with something?"

"Yes," Nikki said softly. "I need to speak to the Headmaster."


	5. Lupus Parvulus

_Rakka: Warning! this chapter contains drama, angst, angry lashing out, portkeys, and butterbeer! It may look like, for one chapter, this isn't a parody, but trust me, it's only a phase! We will return the the mockery of every self insert ever written! I promise! Also, CC was supposed to write this chapter, it was HER turn.._

_CC: Angst is your department, not mine!_

_Rakka: but it was YOUR turn! and I gave you the perfect setup! You didn't even have to think! Besides, vulgarities and violence are your department, not mine!_

_CC: oh, not fair!_

_Rakka: Which makes the next THREE chapters YOUR turn. So anyone wanting an update knows who to bug._

_CC: Not fair! Don't sic the readers on me!_

_Rakka: that's what you get for procrastinating! I had this chapter done in MARCH! Did you even start chapter six yet? nooo..._

_CC: Stop picking on me!_

**Chapter 5: Lupus Parvulus**

Minerva McGonnagall had never been the type of person to let something slide without questioning it, but something about the look in the eyes of the young Slytherin in front of her made her hold her tongue. She stood, nodding, and led Nikki down the corridor, to a statue, at which she stated that years password ('Chocolate Frogs') and headed up the staircase, the girl just a step behind her. Minerva knocked sharply on the door.

"Headmaster?" she called. "I have a student who wishes to speak with you."

"Come on in, Professor," Albus called back quietly as they entered, "Ah, and Miss LeComte, I was wondering when I would be seeing you."

"Well, Headmaster, if you saw this conversation coming, then I suppose it might make it a little easier for you," Nikki said with a hint of ice in her voice that made Minerva hesitate to leave. Quietly, she shut the door behind herself, and started down the stairs slowly, her ears perked for any raised voices. Inside the office, Nikki hadn't moved more than a few feet from the door, staring across the long room at Dumbledore, who stood up, but did not move from behind his desk.

"Well, Nikki," Dumbledore smiled. "What brings you here today?"

"Don't play the fool with me, Headmaster. You know as well as I that it won't work."

"Ah, yes," Dumbledore chuckled. "Thought that doesn't stop your friend Courtney from trying, does it? Well, honestly, I'm not sure why you're here."

Nikki walked up to the desk, still staring at the elder man standing behind it.

"My father." She said flatly. "You know who he is."

"I beg your pardon?" Dumbledore frowned innocently.

Nikki slammed her left hand down against the desk, the sharp sound waking a few sleeping portraits. She looked down at her hand, at the silver wolf's head ring on her middle finger, and jerked it off angrily, slamming it down on the desk.

"How could you keep this from me!" her voice was still not raised, but her rage was more than apparent.

"What makes you think I know who your father is?"

"You were the Headmaster here when my parents attended Hogwarts. You knew! If you didn't know before, then you knew the moment I walked into your office two weeks ago! And that..!" she gestured at the Sorting Hat, which sat upon the shelf behind him. "That.. filthy pile of rags! Did you tell it to lie to me! Were you trying to keep this from me by sending me on false leads!"

"Sorting Hat?" Dumbledore asked. "What is it that you said to Miss LeComte about her father?"

"I said," the Sorting Hat grumbled, "That she had courage, intelligence, and loyalty, much like her father. I don't know what part of that she found misleading.."

"You said he was Slytherin!"

The hat laughed a little, and Nikki was tempted to tear it off the shelf and start pulling his stitches apart until it gave her answers.

"No, no. I said," the hat cleared it's throat, "'Courage, intelligence, loyalty yes... much like your father, well then.. Slytherin!' You can be like someone and not be in the same house, you know."

Nikki faltered. "Maybe, but still, I don't understand how.. how.."

Dumbledore glanced down at the ring on the desk, then back at Nikki, who looked on the verge of tears.

"Sit down, Nikki," he said softly, sitting down at his desk, folding his hands as he carefully watched her over his half moon glasses. She sank into the chair across from him, hugging herself, the heat of her rage having burnt out, leaving nothing but the cold emptiness of uncertainty. Albus sighed. He knew that expression, that look of utter helplessness. The last time he saw it, it was in this very room, but twenty some years earlier, and it was her father looking back at him over the cluttered desk.

"How can I ... he... " Nikki stuttered. "I thought.. I thought.."

"You want to know why your father is a werewolf, and you do not change at the full moon?"

Nikki nodded.

"Well," Albus sighed. "The curse of the werewolf is a very curious, complicated thing. It is genetic, yes, and it is a dominant gene. A carrier of it who does not change over is a rare creature, indeed. But you are only half werewolf, Nikki. Your father never bit your mother, and therefore, never transpired the curse onto her."

Nikki nodded again, and Albus cleared his throat.

"In most werewolves born with the curse, the transformations begin around age five. However, in half bloods like yourself, who are extremely rare, the transformation is even more delayed, not beginning until around age thirteen."

"But I'm seventeen," Nikki frowned.

"Yes, you are," Dumbledore said plainly. "Now, when you were about five or six, your mother brought you here, hoping that there was something I could do. At the time, there wasn't. However, a curious invention called the Wolfsbane Potion changed that. You may not know it, but you've been taking an experimental modification of the potion, in capsule form, since you were about eleven, in hopes that we could somehow subdue the dormant gene before it could effect you."

"My allergy medication..?" Nikki reached into her pocket, pulling out a small pill bottle.

"You don't have allergies, Nikki," Dumbledore sighed. "Except for mold, which I think we both know that pill doesn't help with."

Nikki smirked a little. "And to think, I thought this wasn't helping me at all.."

"It might not have, really. It may have just postponed the inevitable. There has been a risk since we started you on it that you may change over, and with each new cycle of the moon, the odds become greater that you will change. And, as we near the full moon, I want you to monitor your health very closely. Should you feel at all ill, speak to Professor Snape at once, and he will begin dosing you in the Wolfsbane potion in addition to your pills."

Nikki looked down at her hands, then back up at Dumbledore. "This doesn't change the fact that you kept this from me. When were you planning on telling me? When a werewolf started running rampant in the Slytherin girls' dormitory?"

"It was your mother's idea to keep this from you, Nikki. I thought you knew, honestly," Dumbledore sighed. They sat in silence for a moment, and Nikki picked her ring back up, putting it back on, and staring at it.

"I want to speak with him," She said quietly, more because volume was unneccesary than out of any shyness.

"Nikki, I.."

"I know, Headmaster. I know about the Order. I know about 12 Grimmauld Place. And I want you to take me there to see my father," she said firmly.

"How do you... " Dumbledore looked a little puzzled. "The only people in your grade that know of the Order are.."

"Gryffindors, aside from Luna Lovegood, and I don't speak to any of them," Nikki snapped impatiently. "Your secrets are not nearly as well gaurded as you think them to be. You're lucky that most Death Eaters don't read Muggle fiction books. Now do I need to start naming all remaining members in alphabetical order, or are we going to get moving?"

"Very well," Dumbledore sighed, standing. "Phineas? Would you please pay a visit to your other portrait and see if Mr. Lupin is in?"

With a great grumbling, Phineas left his portrait, leaving Dumbledore and Nikki to wait in awkward silence. Just then, there was a knock at the door.

"Pr'fessor?" Hagrid called through the wooden door. "I've got a couple of students that need to speak with ye.. though I'm not sure why they came to me of all people fer help.."

"Let them in, Hagrid," Dumbledore sighed knowingly. "Thank you."

Just then, the door opened, and, predictably, let in Remi, Tyler, and Courtney.

"Courtney told me about your dad," Remi sniffled, hugging Nikki. "And we figured you were going to try to get Dumbledore to take you to Sirius' house, so we came here right away!"

"You didn't think you could go on an adventure off of school grounds without us, did you?" Tyler smirked, using Nikki's shoulder as an armrest. Courtney laughed nervously.

"Okay.. so I kinda told them.. but you didn't tell me it was supposed to stay a secret.." Courtney stammered in her own defense when Nikki glared at her. Sighing, Nikki forced a smile.

"You three are helpless," she sighed. "Headmaster, I think it would be best if they came with me."

"As do I," Dumbledore smiled. "After all, it's about time Tyler found out about his cousin."

"Cousin?" Tyler frowned. "Who's my cousin?"

"He's there," Phineas sighed, coming back into view in his portrait. "Though where else he would be is beyond me... unemployed lump, living off the wealth my family left behind.."

"That's enough, Phineas," Nikki said in a voice that could make the wind stop dead in it's tracks. "Thank you."

Courtney, Remi, and Tyler stared at Nikki, startled by her tone, as the Headmaster, completely nonplussed, lifted a portkey out of one of the many drawers on his desk, and before they could count to three, they were standing in the kitchen of number Twelve, Grimmauld Place.

"Here we are," Remi bounced cheerfully. "Gosh, it's rather sad looking in here."

"The owner of this house passed on about a year and a half ago," Dumbledore said quietly. "He was your cousin, Tyler."

"He... woa, wait," Courtney took a step back. "_He_ was your cousin?"

"I do see the resemblance," Nikki shrugged.

"Indeed," Remi nodded.

"To who?"

"I'll give you a hint, Tyler," Nikki sighed. "He was played by an actor who once played Dracula."

"Oh, I know this one!" Tyler jumped up and down in frustration. "Dammit! I don't remember! Give me another hint!"

"Snuffles," Remi added.

"What?"

"Padfoot," Nikki sighed, and he continued to stare blankly at her. "Sirius Black, you twit! Read a bloody book once in a while, for cripes sake.."

"My, _my_, someone's in a mood," Courtney commented.

"Sod off," Nikki growled. "I have my reasons, as you well know."

"What's going on in here?"

Everyone turned to the kitchen door, where Remus Lupin stood, looking significantly worse for wear than he had when Nikki and Courtney last saw him in Snape's Pensieve. Nikki paled a little.

"Ah, Remus," Dumbledore smiled, not missing a beat. "Precisely the man we came here to see."

"Who, might I ask, are all of you?" Remus looked positively baffled by the four Muggle-raised yanks now standing in the middle of the kitchen of the otherwise empty house.

"A few new students," Dumbedore had that knowing look in his eye, and, had Nikki not been near comatose with shock, she would have wanted to strangle him for it. "One of whom in particular wanted to see you."

"Really?" Remus frowned. "None of these children look familliar to me.."

Remi looked a little insulted about being called a child, but Courtney and Tyler were too busy looking around the kitchen in wonder to notice.

"I think you may want to take a closer look, Remus," Dumbledore rested his hands on Nikki's shoulders. "Because I think she should look quite familliar indeed." He turned away from Nikki and Remus, toward the other three. "Come along, let's give them some space to talk, no?"

Remi cast a supportive glance over at Nikki, Tyler gave her a wink, and Courtney forced a smile as the headmaster led them from the kitchen, leaving Nikki with her father in the awkward silence. She looked over at him and cast him a small, forced smile.

"Well," Remus clapped his hands together, forcing an all-too-similar smile back at her. "Care for a butterbeer?"

"Umm, never had one, actually," Nikki laughed a little, but her voice sounded like she was about to cry. "Sure, thanks."

He pulled two bottles from the cupboard, tapping the sides of them with his wand and sending the caps to land carefully on the table. "Here you are. I'd introduce myself, though I suspect you already know my name, though I'm afraid I didn't catch yours."

"Nikki," she said carefully, willing her voice not to shake, then clearing her throat. "Nikki LeComte."

Remus seemed to twitch a little at that. "I once knew a girl with your last name.. it explains why you look familliar."

"Yes, I believe you knew my mother_ quite _well," Nikki said with the slightest hint of ice, which was entirely unintended, and caught her off gaurd moreso than him.

"So," Remus forced a smile again. "Why is it that you asked Dumbledore to come see me, of all people?"

Nikki laughed bitterly at his naievety, though she tried not to. "I guess I have a bit of explaining to do, don't I?"

Remus looked completely thrown by her laughter, and even moreso by her comment. He gripped his butterbeer, but didn't take a sip, watching her intently.

"Well, where is a good place to start this.." she sighed, taking a sip of the drink in her hand. "Hmm.. well, I suppose I should tell you in the same order that I found out all this. You see, I never knew my father. When I was ten or eleven, my mother gave me a name, a Muggle who worked at a local car dealership - mind you, I thought myself a Muggle at the time, too, and her as well. For years, I believed it. Hated him, but believed it. Then, less than a month ago, a very belated Hogwarts Letter arrived, for myself as well as three of my friends, who you saw earlier. We came to England, and were sorted.. though when the sorting hat was on my head, it said a most curious thing.. that I was like my father. Now, how would the sorting hat know that, if my father was a Muggle?"

Remus watched her carefully as she paused, taking another sip of her drink, before beginning again. "Well, the thought haunted me for a few days, and I made the mistake of telling this to my dear friend Courtney who, though she has good intentions, tends to go about things in, well, in ways that certainly would make the Marauders proud. And she dragged me into Professor Snape's pensieve on some poorly planned mission to spy on my mother in the past and find out who my real father was."

Remus chuckled a little at the mention of the Marauders, and tried to surpress a smirk at the idea of Nikki and Courtney poking into Snape's memories, but failed.

"And we stumbled upon a most peculiar incident in the library that I don't think the snarky professor even knows he witnessed," Nikki smiled in a way that made Remus uncomfortable. "You see, we were sitting around, watching the greasy git writing an essay, when I heard a most peculiar sound around the corner, behind a bookshelf. I went over to investigate, and guess who I found, snogging against the reference books?"

Remus got a little red at that, and inspected the bottle in front of him as though it was fascinating, wishing she wouldn't stare at him that way. Sighing, she continued.

"My mom. And you," she took another sip of her drink. "And as Courtney dragged me back into reality before Snape could catch us, I thought to myself that, goodness, that couldn't have been more than a year before I was born. But, I don't get particularly hairy in the moonlight, so it seemed like we'd reached another dead end. But now I was more confused than ever. Because my mother wasn't the type to cheat on you, or to pick up someone else so quickly. I had found my answer, but it made no sense. So I went to Dumbledore."

Remus looked at her, his curiosity plain as day. Nikki smirked, a thin, tightly drawn smile, like that of someone who was beginning to spiral into insanity.

"Apparently, Professor Snape is a better potion maker than anyone ever suspected. He's been brewing me a modified Wolfsbane potion, which I have been taking since I was about ten, and thus far, I have yet to change over, that I know of."

He looked at her, completely numbstruck. For a moment, they sat in silence, before she burst into tears. Remus got to his feet and was around the table in a few quick steps, standing at her side.

"D..Dumbledore says that the stuff they've been giving me is experimental.. it's likely only a matter of time until it doesn't work anymore.. a wonder it has lasted as long as it has..."

"Sssh," Remus bent over her, hugging her tightly. "Sshh.. It's okay. It's not as bad as it sounds. Really. Besides, I'm here now."

Instead of making her stop, she started crying more, her chest heaving with all out sobs, all the tears she'd held back since grammar school over the father she didn't know finally forcing their way out. She stood, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist, as though to make sure he didn't disappear on her again. As her death grip weakened and her sobs finally died down to mere sniffles, a loud smashing noise resounded from the next room.

"Tyler!" Remi yelled. "Nikki is going to kill you...!"

"I didn't touch it!" Tyler yelled back defensively. Nikki wiped her eyes and smiled.

"Oh, goodness," Nikki laughed a little. "You haven't really met the crew yet, have you?"

"No, I suppose not," Remus smiled, running his hand through her hair before letting it rest on her back. "Should I be afraid?"

"Only if you fear them breaking everything you own," Nikki smirked. "Come on, dad. Let's go see what Tyler broke this time." Laughing quietly, the werewolf followed his daughter into the study.


End file.
